AFTER months of cogitation and research, the government has finally come up with a way to celebrate Gordon Brown’s proposed new “British” bank holiday. Drinking. Also morris dancing. And anything that can be done “cheaply, so people get involved”.

Those are three suggestions contained in a pamphlet published today by Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, on how to celebrate British national identity. It in effect admits that the all-day consumption of booze is a core element of British culture.

“Drinking” is listed as one of “27 ways to celebrate a national day”. Other ideas include decking public spaces with posters of Winston Churchill, multicultural carnivals and a new Queen’s speech. Another suggestion, presumably not inspired by the dismal summer, is to celebrate Britishness “by appreciating the weather”.

The prospect of a “British Day” drew a scathing response yesterday from the historian David Starkey. “All this idea for a British Day is simply the sign of a nation and a government in trouble,” said Starkey, whose books include Monarchy: From the Middle Ages to Modernity.

“Brown is a Scot and that’s why he and his government have to go on about Britishness. There is an air of absurdity about this idea when key people like Brown are dictating what they think is Britishness from a Scottish standpoint.”

Nor was Starkey impressed by the pamphlet’s ideas. “To celebrate with morris dancing is wrong anyway. It’s just an English thing.”

Andrew Marr, the television presenter and author of A History of Modern Britain, said: “The only one suitable is drinking. It’s our national sport and we’re very good at it – drinking to excess, that is.

“As for morris dancing, I think it was the composer Arnold Bax who said, ‘You should try everything once except incest and morris dancing.’ That more or less covers my view.”

When Brown became prime minister last year, he announced he wanted to create a new British Day to bring together citizens throughout the United Kingdom as well as new immigrants. The Institute for Public Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank, said the day should be an occasion for a national “thank you” to community heroes and for people to give something back to their communities.

The date of the holiday has yet to be set. Brown toyed with the idea of rebranding Remembrance Day, which is on November 11. Then Byrne suggested the last Monday in August, which provoked protest in Scotland because it is currently a bank holiday only in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In his new pamphlet, A More United Kingdom, published by the think tank Demos, the minister suggests that the second May bank holiday could become British Day. It has the advantage of already being a day off in all parts of the UK.

His report is the result of a year of public consultation about how the event could be marked. “I was impressed at the strength of support I heard,” he writes. “Around the country, people echoed this sense that the UK has always been a pretty diverse place and because of this there has evolved an extra need to raise awareness about our shared history and values of tolerance.

“There was a strong sense the day was so important that it should be a public holiday.”

Byrne warned that it is vital the new occasion does not become too “jingoistic”. He said members of his own multicultural constituency in Birmingham Hodge Hill are mistrustful of the “trappings of nationalism” such as “saluting flags”.

Asked whether his inclusion of “drinking” as a way to mark British Day might be interpreted as celebrating the yobbish aspects of our culture, Byrne was unrepentant. “Well, as the bloke said to me, ‘It’s my day; it’s my right to do whatever I like!’ Best of British, I thought.”

Opposition politicians are less enthused. They believe the idea has been driven mainly by Brown’s obsessive concern that English voters regard him as “too Scottish”.

Lord Tebbit, the Conservative former cabinet minister, said: “If there is to be a British Day, then it should be a day when the Commons and the Lords convene to pass legislation to make us British again by repealing the European accession treaty.

“Britishness is something which should be there. We don’t need to celebrate it as such. Millions of people clearly want to come here or have come here to be British. That’s enough.”

27 WAYS TO PARTY
- A “national event” with celebrations in local areas.

- Theme selected each year to link many small community events.

- TV to screen British history, a Queen’s speech and broadcasts from the events.

- Bravery of war veterans to be remembered.

- Young people to visit and help older people.

- Schools to “teach history” and provide choirs.

- Activities for “whole community” during the day, leaving the “evening for partying”.

- Street parties for “exchanging food and culture”.

- A Notting Hill-style carnival, a big procession and fireworks.

- Live Aid type concert as one of many British, world and local music events – and “local dress”.

- Morris and folk dancing.

- People to eat foods from other cultures.

- Celebrate “through drinking” .

- Free cinema films shown on the history of Britain.

- A “sports theme” for all nationalities and “football”.

- Cultural dress to be worn.

- Town halls to hold “community discussions”.

- Posters to display iconic figures such as: “fallen heroes, Winston Churchill”.

- Ceremony to “remember the good things” in the past year.

- People asked to appreciate “the country; weather; enjoyment”.

- To be priced “cheaply”, thereby including more people.

- Many events free.

- Former empire countries to be included.

- To be “about integration”.

- Publicity will be used to “ensure people get involved – like Children in Need”.

- British life, immigration and remembrance to be emphasised.

- To be done in a “understated but firm way” and “without fuss” showing the good and bad aspects of living in Britain.

Do you have any ideas on how the country should best celebrate "British Day"? Post your idea below.

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